Bangsamoro Islamic Freedom Fighters

The Bangsamoro Islamic Freedom Fighters was a secessionist Islamist militant group formed in 2008 by Ameril Umbra Kato after breaking with the Moro Islamic Liberation Front. Based in Mindanao with 300-5,000 fighters, the BIFF was active in Maguindanao against the government of the Philippines, and it allied with the Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF). Kato died of natural causes in April 2015, and the group's leader Ismael Abubakar later pledged allegiance to the Islamic State with its 500+ fighters.